After spending one more night lost in the Amazon jungle, Lucas began to slowly open his eyes. A silhouette was already watching him carefully from early on...
"Hmmmm? Ohhh good morning, monkey girl! Hey, I really didn't expect you were still here... AAAHHH!!!", Lucas yelled when he realized that the silhouette watching him was the face of a big monkey with golden fur. The boy fell from the log where he was lying and immediately walked away from the bewildering creature.
"Aaaaahhh! WHAT THE..!? What kind of monkey is that? Its huge, almost half my size... n-no, d-don't come near!", Lucas exclaimed terrified before he turned around and noticed that there were much more monkeys with him. He was completely surrounded.
"Oh crap, they are everywhere! I-I have... I have to get out of here!!", the young man thought just before he tried to run away. However, to his horror, at that moment several huge gorillas appeared and blocked his path.
"OH... MY... GOD...", Lucas muttered, completely pale. One of the gorillas launched a powerful roar while the monkeys began to howl like crazy.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!", the boy screamed before stumbling and falling to the ground. "What the hell!? What happened to the girl? Was it... was it all a dream? Everything that happened yesterday was product of hunger and despair!?", he thought as he trembled and crawled on the floor, thinking that his time had come for real. "Oh... Grandpa... PLEASE HELP ME!".
But just then, the naked girl from the day before landed in front of him, causing all the monkeys to cease their madness. Lucas watched surprised. "Ah! It's... it's you! So... I didn't imagine it... you're real!", the young man said relieved.
Y'shaati looked up, took a deep breath, and produced a thunderous cry as she savagely beat her chest:
"AAAHHOOOOHHAAAAAAAAHHHHミOOOOHHHAAAAAAAHHミOOOHAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Wow...", the boy remained speechless at such a sound. And his shock was even greater when he observed how both the monkeys and the gorillas lowered their heads as a sign of respect for the girl...
"W-what? B-but h-how did you managed to...", Lucas stuttered. Y'shaati remained stoic, with a pose equal to that of the gorillas. At that moment, a particular gorilla began to make his way through the members of his group until he stepped in front of the wildling. The savage lady's serious expression changed almost instantly.
"Ook ooh ahh? (Na'ek?)"
"Ohh ahh ook ohh! Uhh ooh ahh ahh!" (Y'shaati! Long time no see!)"
The blonde and the gorilla smiled at each other and began to talk by hooting. The creature's name was Na'ek, a silver-furred Tahuayo. One of the strongest gorillas... and probably the smartest of them all.
"What... is she doing? Is she... talking to the gorilla..? No way..." Lucas observed confused.
"What Na'ek doing here?"
"Na'ek and troop traveling towards sacred tree. Naka'i joined troop."
"Sacred tree? Yvyra? Apes gathering?"
"Indeed. Primates gathering to witness new Tahuayo leader. Na'ek defeat Tagg in proving. Na'ek champion among Tahuayos. Na'ek new leader of Tahuayo troop!"
Na'ek began to beat his chest with pride, while the other gorillas howled and jumped excited. Y'shaati joined their celebration hooting and clapping as well.
"I can't believe it... she understands them! She's... like one of them...", Lucas thought.
"Y'shaati happy for Na'ek. Na'ek worthy successor of master K'uno!"
"Na'ek thankful... but Na'ek still far from K'uno. Still far from Y'shaati even. Na'ek never defeat K'uno. Y'shaati defeat K'uno. Y'shaati true leader of Tahuayos."
"No... Na'ek good leader!"
"Y'shaati coming with troop to gathering? Na'ek would be humbled with Y'shaati's presence!"
"Uhm... Y'shaati can't right now. Sorry..."
"What? Why?"
"Y'shaati busy with... uhm..."
However, at that moment, the gray gorilla's cheerful face suddenly changed as he saw the young human behind the monkey queen.
"Human trespasser!?"
"No! Not trespasser... human... he friend."
"Human friend? Trespassers not friends... humans less! Humans evil and dangerous!"
"No! He friend. Y'shaati save him. He alone so... Y'shaati help."
"What!? Y'shaati saved trespasser? Preposterous... foolish! Did Y'shaati forget purpose!?"
"Never! Y'shaati protect jungle! Y'shaati protect those in need... but..."
"Then what?"
"He human... but he not dangerous nor evil. He friendly."
"Inconceivable..."
Na'ek was really angry. The gorilla approached Y'shaati little by little in a threatening way... however, the queen of the monkeys didn't back down at any time. Na'ek didn't intimidate her. Lucas on the other hand, could feel the tension despite not understanding a single word of the discussion. He was extremely nervous.
"Humans kill master K'uno... did Y'shaati forget that too!? Humans don't deserve mercy... humans monsters!"
"Lu-cas not monster! He different."
"Lu-cas? Enough! Na'ek will take care of this problem..."
"No! Wait!"
The gorilla suddenly pushed Y'shaati out of the way to approach the boy.
"Oh no, oh no! No please, don't hurt me!", Lucas said terrified when he saw the gorilla's face just a few inches from him. Na'ek exhaled heavily through his nose, causing the boy's hair to flutter. And then, the gorilla pushed Lucas with one hand, knocking him down pretty easily.
"Ahhhh!! Nooo pleaseee!!", the boy begged. Na'ek began to humiliate him in front of everyone. The gorilla rudely snatched his glasses from his face, cracking them a little bit in the process and tossing them into the ground. Then, he pulled from his arms and legs, mocking his lack of musculature. All the primates howled like crazy, encouraging Na'ek to keep teasing him, much to Y'shaati's disapproval.
"Tch! Pathetic human... Na'ek could crush human effortlessly in a second. To think Y'shaati saved human scum... disgraceful..."
Y'shaati didn't know what to do. She knew what the gorilla was doing wasn't right... yet he wasn't wrong in saying that humans were guilty of K'uno's death. But still, she wouldn't allow an internal conflict like this to stop her from intervening in the situation. She had to decide...
"Na'ek stop!"
"No! Na'ek doing Y'shaati's duty. Human must pay for his crimes!"
Na'ek... enough."
"Y'shaati bring shame to Tahuayos."
"No..."
"If master K'uno were here... master K'uno would be absolutely ashamed! Master K'uno would never..."
Just then, Y'shaati struck the ground with her fists with superhuman strength, causing a great rumble that interrupted Na'ek's speech. All the Naka'i and the Tahuayos gasped. The blonde girl quickly crawled to get between Lucas and Na'ek.
"ENOUGH!", Y'shaati shouted as she confronted Na'ek. The boy noticed she was trying to defend him from the gorilla, much to his surprise and concern.
"Ah!? Hey, wait girl!! What are you doing!? You won't be thinking on..."
"Luu-cas!"
"Huh!? W-what?"
"Ook, ook...", Y'shaati pointed to a waterfall that could be seen very far far away.
"What? W-what do you mean?"
"Ooh, ook ook!", Y'shaati turned and pushed the boy several times, telling him to flee in that direction.
"No! Not a chance, I'm not gonna leave you here alone with this wild apes! I won't let..."
"LUU-CAS!!", Y'shaati yelled.
"Ahhh!! Okay okay! Sorry, sorry... just... p-please be careful!"
Lucas stood up immediately, grabbed his glasses and ran away. Na'ek couldn't believe what his eyes had seen and what his ears had heard. The supposed guardian of Amazonia had let a human from a different world to cross in. The monkey queen looked at the gray gorilla right into his gaze. Her azure eyes were glowing now.
"Unbelievable... Y'shaati speak human language now? Outrageous! This insult shall not go unpunished! Na'ek will..."
The wild girl, enraged and tired of Na'ek's words, unexpectedly charged at the gorilla, tackling him aggressively. The tahuayo didn't even have time to react. She managed to lift Na'ek off the ground for a few seconds and then brutally slammed him into the ground. The gorilla roared in pain on his back. Before Na'ek could get up to fight back, Y'shaati clamped his arms to immobilize him and then put her bare foot right on the gorilla's face. Despite being more muscular and bigger than the girl, he couldn't find a way to free himself. A powerful and effective Tahuayo wrestling maneuver.
"Aaaargh! Na'ek surrenders! Na'ek surrenders!"
"Never mention Master K'uno's name again in front of Y'shaati... NEVER! Understand?"
"Na'ek... understands... free Na'ek now!"
"Hmm... weakling."
The feral girl released the gorilla. Around her, the other Tahuayos and the Naka'i remained jawdropped. Y'shaati hooted in front of them and struck her chest with her knuckles several times. A way to proclaim herself superior to Na'ek. The newest Tahuayo leader had been defeated so easily. All the apes bowed in front of her in respect once again. No one had ever seen such attitude from her before. The gray gorilla spoke again as he tried to stand up.
"How dare you? This not over! Primate leaders will know about this! Na'ek tell everything!"
"Do so. Y'shaati wrong... Na'ek no leader! Leaders won't listen to a fraud..."
"WHAT!? Grrrr..."
Y'shaati simply turned around and ran in the same direction Lucas escaped to catch up with him, ignoring Na'ek's growl of anger.
/////////////
Lucas walked for a long time in the direction of the beautiful waterfall that the wild girl had indicated. A unique place in the entire jungle, as it connected directly with one of the main arteries of the Amazon river. The boy thought that perhaps his chances of being reunited with his grandfather would increase thanks to this. However, he couldn't stop thinking about the recent incident either.
"This is crazy, she already saved me twice from dying... no, three times! That girl is quite a box full of surprises. She's so brave and fearless... wish I could be like her..." Lucas mused as he reached the foot of the waterfall.
"Well, I'm here... now what? What am I supposed to do?", the boy thought as he took a moment to admire the scenery. Looking closely, he could see that something strange was hidden behind the torrent. The water was so crystaline that a small entrance could be clearly seen. Probably a cave.
"Huh? What is that?", Lucas asked himself. Curious, the boy decided to investigate. However, it would not be an easy task, because to get there, he would have to climb some rocks that served as improvised stairs. Still, he was determined to find out what was in that place.
"Oh dear! Careful now Lucas... careful...", he told to himself as he climbed slowly to avoid falling. A few minutes later, the boy finally made it to the entrance. At that very moment, he realized that the cave wasn't entirely dark, as there were many holes through which the warm sunlight entered.
"Whoa! This place is not bad at all. I think now I understand why she told me to come here. Surely it is some sort of refuge she discovered or something like that. Finally, a roof where to spend the night!", Lucas began to go deeper into the cave, very excited. But just a few steps ahead, the boy's face suddenly changed.
"What the..?", he exclaimed startled when he saw a torn backpack on the ground. There were also notebook pages strewn all over the place, a makeshift bed made of wood, small tribal ornaments on the cave's walls, and several worn pieces of clothing hanging from a thin rope.
"What's all this stuff? What does it mean? Has anyone been living here..? But how? When? Whose things are these?". Lucas searched the entire place for clues that would answer his questions.
"What are all these pages? Huh... these are drawings and annotations. Plants, flowers, animals... wait... a map too! Heavens, it's very well drawn! Whoever this person is, he's a professional. Why would they tear them off?". Once he gathered the pages, Lucas took the backpack to put them there.
"Okay, that's better. Hmmm... there are some tools here... and the backpack is torn... strange..."
At that moment, Lucas noticed a tag on the backpack with information of its owner.
"Aha! Let's see who you are... hmmmm, no it's very worn, I can't read it. I think it says... Francis. Huh...", the boy then proceeded to take the clothes to examine them as well.
"Pants and a shirt... quite old. Surely this Francis went nuts and decided to walk around naked, huh? I don't blame him. Wait! The shirt has an embroidered name... F. García...", the boy stopped for a moment.
"F. García... Francis... Francis García... Hmmm? Wait... I think I've heard that name before!", Lucas thought.
"Yeah, I think I remember that name! If I remember correctly, that's the name of the university's researcher who disappeared more than 20 years ago! But how... how did he end up here!?"
Memories began to flow rapidly through the boy's mind. He remembered that time his grandfather told him how one of his most esteemed students and had disappeared without leaving a trace. A wildlife researcher graduated from the University of Madrid. A nature enthusiast.
"That means... somehow, he managed to get here. But... where is he? It seems that this place has been abandoned for a long time... could he... be already dead? Oh man, surely the answer must be right here. I have to find it...".
The boy searched every corner of the cave for a clue that would allow him to know Francis's whereabouts. It wasn't until he decided to search under the bed that he finally found the final piece of the puzzle... or so he believed.
"W-what is this? Some kind of doll... and this?", Lucas said confused as he held up the strange object he had found. Right next to it was the last remaining page of Francis's notebook. The boy unwrapped it to check it.
"A sketch? A woman and a baby... it looks like... a family portrait... oh, and has something written on it..."
"The two stars that give light to my life"
"Well... I guess Francis found a wife. And he even had a child I think! Good for him, but this doesn't tell me anything... what on earth happened to them? There's something odd about all this..."
At that very instant, Y'shaati climbed and entered the cave while holding one fish in her mouth and other in her right hand. Sensing a presence behind, Lucas quickly turned to look behind him, startled.
"Ahh! You... you're all right! Oh, thank goodness you made it out of there alive!", Lucas said relieved and happy to see the wild girl. The boy approached her to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"I can't believe it, you don't even have a scratch... did you really beat that huge gorilla by yourself?" Lucas asked. Y'shaati happily offered one of the fishes to the boy.
"Whoa, you also brought food? Heavens... you're... you're an extraordinary girl! A very strong and brave lady! If it weren't for you, I would be already dead. I... I really don't know how can I pay you for all this...", Lucas said before kneeling in front of the blonde and giving her a big hug. Y'shaati stayed surprised and motionless. Her face blushed. Other than her Naka'i and Tahuayo siblings, no one had approached her like that before. It felt... heartwarming.
"Oh boy, these fish look absolutely delicious! Hey, you know what? I have a great idea! Let me quickly start a fire to cook them. Oh, I can't wait for... huh...", Lucas remained silent as he saw that the girl had already started to devour her meal.
"Hey hey, wait! No, don't eat it raw, it surely tastes horrible like that... look, give it to me...", Lucas said before grabbing one of her arms. Y'shaati stopped for a moment, feeling confused.
"Your fish... I'll give it back, I promise..." Lucas repeated. The girl stopped chewing and handed the food to the boy.
"Alright! Let me show you something... you are gonna love this! Come on!"
/////////////
Later that day, with the jungle sky already stained in orange color, a column of smoke accompanied the sunset. Outside the cave, Lucas and Y'shaati sat around a bonfire again, waiting for dinner to be ready. The boy seemed quite happy while cooking, as if all his problems had ceased to exist for just one day. Meanwhile, the wild girl carefully watched the way the fishes went round and round impaled with sticks as they were engulfed by the presence of the red flower. They both seemed to understand each other better every second they shared together.
"Ah, I think they are ready! That should be enough!", Lucas said as he removed the fishes from the fire.
"Here you go! Try eating it again. You will notice that the taste will be much better than before!" Lucas said as he handed her meal back. Y'shaati brought her nose close to it to smell the strange aroma her prey produced. A very tempting scent that for some reason, awakened her appetite.
"You can eat it now! Look... Hmmmmm!", Lucas moaned after taking a big bite off his fish. The girl, with a little bit of hesitation, proceeded to do the same.
Suddenly, Y'shaati's face lit up like a little girl's. She had never tasted something so delicious in her entire life. She enjoyed everything about it. Fully excited, she devoured the entire fish in just a few seconds.
"Whoa, what a way to eat for a lady... hahaha! Did you even take the time to enjoy the taste?"
"Ooh ook ook!", Y'shaati howled with a cute smile on her face and a little bit of food on her cheeks.
"I'll take that as a yes haha! Uhm, you know... I was thinking... I decided that I'm gonna stay in this cave from now on. Looks like a safe place to live in. I mean, someone has already lived there and left many things behind. Hey, do you happen to know anything about it?", Lucas asked. Y'shaati didn't answer.
"Yeah, I thought as much... well, what I'm really trying to say is... I could teach you a lot more things like this. But in return, I wish you could help me too...", Lucas said. Y'shaati approached to him.
"H-help?"
"Uh? Y-yeah, exactly! I need... I-I mean... Lucas needs help... Lucas help. YOUR help, just like before with the gorillas."
"Lu-cas... h-help? Ah! Help!"
"Yes, that's right! Oh, your voice is so cute! Ah, I mean... yes, help."
"Help!"
"I... I wanna learn to take care of myself in this place... just like you do! I think it's the only way for me to survive without you having to save my life every minute. What I'm saying is... I wanna be like you. Besides, I still can't find a single trace of my grandfather and my group... I really need to know what happened to them. And it seems that you know the jungle better than anyone! So..."
"Ook ook..."
"Oh, And I could even teach you some more words and ways to communicate with me! It will take some time and effort, but I can see that you learn very quickly... what do you say, monkey girl?", he said as both got closer to each other.
"Would... YOU... help... Lucas?", he said holding her hands.
"Y-you...?"
"I Lucas...", he said putting his hand on his own chest. "...YOU...?", he asked touching her chest.
"Y-you... Lu-cas... I... I..."
"Mhm?"
"I... Y... Y'sh... Y'shaa... ti..."
"Huh!?
"Y'shaa...ti! Y'shaati!"
"Y'shaati? That's your name?"
"Ook ook!
"Its beautiful!"
"Ook ook... Y'shaati... h-help... Lu-cas!"
"Yes! See? You're a very smart girl, haha!"
